Bulking powerpoint files to pdf in same tree of directories - powershell

Question

I found this script (https://gist.github.com/mp4096/1a2279ec7b3dfec659f58e378ddd9aee) which is bulking powerpoints to PDF's and are saving them where you run the script.
However, what if one want to save them into the same directories they are found in but swap the parent path to 'PDF' over 'Powerpoint'?
Suppose the tree of dirs looks something like this:
/Parent_dir/Powerpoint/A_1/B/p1.pptx
/Parent_dir/Powerpoint/A/p1.pptx
And then I want to save them into same tree but with folder “PDF” instead (all the directories already exists but are for now empty):
/Parent_dir/PDF/A_1/B/p1.pdf
/Parent_dir/PDF/A/p1.pdf
I tried playing around with the curr_path but I have to create the curr_path inside the Get-ChildItem loop and Im not sure how to.
# Batch convert all .ppt/.pptx files encountered in folder and all its subfolders
# The produced PDF files are stored in the invocation folder
#
# Adapted from http://stackoverflow.com/questions/16534292/basic-powershell-batch-convert-word-docx-to-pdf
# Thanks to MFT, takabanana, ComFreek
#
# If PowerShell exits with an error, check if unsigned scripts are allowed in your system.
# You can allow them by calling PowerShell as an Administrator and typing
# ```
# Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted
# ```
# Get invocation path
$curr_path = Split-Path -parent $MyInvocation.MyCommand.Path
# Create a PowerPoint object
$ppt_app = New-Object -ComObject PowerPoint.Application
# Get all objects of type .ppt? in $curr_path and its subfolders
Get-ChildItem -Path $curr_path -Recurse -Filter *.ppt? | ForEach-Object {
Write-Host "Processing" $_.FullName "..."
# Open it in PowerPoint
$document = $ppt_app.Presentations.Open($_.FullName)
# Create a name for the PDF document; they are stored in the invocation folder!
# If you want them to be created locally in the folders containing the source PowerPoint file, replace $curr_path with $_.DirectoryName
$pdf_filename = "$($curr_path)\$($_.BaseName).pdf"
# Save as PDF -- 17 is the literal value of `wdFormatPDF`
$opt= [Microsoft.Office.Interop.PowerPoint.PpSaveAsFileType]::ppSaveAsPDF
$document.SaveAs($pdf_filename, $opt)
# Close PowerPoint file
$document.Close()
}
# Exit and release the PowerPoint object
$ppt_app.Quit()
[System.Runtime.Interopservices.Marshal]::ReleaseComObject($ppt_app)

Answer 1

There are of course several ways to handle your use case. The below is just one example.
$curr_path = Split-Path -parent $MyInvocation.MyCommand.Path
$ValidatePath = If (-Not (Test-Path -Path $curr_path))
{(New-Item -Path $curr_path -ItemType Directory).FullName}
Else {$curr_path}
$ppt_app = New-Object -ComObject PowerPoint.Application
Get-ChildItem -Path $ValidatePath -Recurse -Filter '*.ppt?' |
ForEach-Object {
Write-Host "Processing $($PSItem.FullName) '...'"
$document = $ppt_app.Presentations.Open($PSItem.FullName)
$pdf_filename = "$($curr_path)\$($PSItem.BaseName).pdf"
$opt= [Microsoft.Office.Interop.PowerPoint.PpSaveAsFileType]::ppSaveAsPDF
$document.SaveAs($pdf_filename, $opt)
$document.Close()
}
$ppt_app.Quit()
[System.Runtime.Interopservices.Marshal]::ReleaseComObject($ppt_app)